Pyroeis (Ancient Greek: Πυρόεις) in ancient Greek religion is the god of the wandering star Areios, identified with the planet Mars.
He is also known as Mesonyx (Ancient Greek: Μεσονυξ; 'midnight').
Etymology
Pyroeis, from Ancient Greek: Πυρό, romanized: pyro, 'fire', means 'the fiery one'.1
Function
In Ancient Greek astronomy, Pyroeis is the god of the planet Mars, one of the five planets visible to the naked eye. Astronomers of the time assigned these "planetae" various names, associated them with different gods, and ascribed various qualities to their apparent behaviour in the sky.2
References
References
- Thom, Johan C.; Burri, Renate; Chandler, Clive; Daiber, Hans; Kraye, Jill; Smith, Andrew; Takahashi, Hidemi; Tzvetkova-Glaser, Anna (2014). "Αριστοτελους Περι Κοσμου". Cosmic Order and Divine Power. Mohr Siebeck GmbH and Co. KG: 25. ISBN 978-3-16-152809-5. JSTOR j.ctv9b2w4j.6.
- "Planetae", in Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, pp. 922, 923.